1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and techniques for collecting waste materials, particularly animal litter, such as dog feces or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the prior art to provide utensils for collecting and disposing of waste material, such as pet's excrement, this being a particular problem in urban areas. Such prior art devices have included scoop or shovel-type devices, usable either alone or in combination with an associated scraper or pusher tool to scoop up the waste material.
It is also known to provide disposable receptacles, such as bags, or the like, with such collection devices for facilitating disposal of the waste material. In some of these devices the bag is simply an attachment to a open-bottom scoop, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,082. But in this type of device the waste material comes in contact with the scoop, creating sanitation problems. In yet another type of device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,565, the shovel or scoop has a bag or cover draped over the handle and the user's hand and, after the waste material is scooped up the sleeve is draped back over the scoop and closed around the scoop and the waste material collected thereon. Then the entire apparatus is discarded.
Other prior devices have avoided the contamination problem by providing only a frame which supports the bag, the bag providing the receptacle and covering the frame so as to prevent contact of the waste material therewith, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,705,310 and 4,047,746. It is also known to use the bag as a liner for a scoop or shovel device to prevent contact of the waste material therewith, as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,509. But these devices do not provide very effective scoops when used by themselves, and they do not provide an associated scraping or pushing tool.
Two-piece devices utilizing both a receptacle part and a scraper or pusher part are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,349,224, 4,196,928 and 4,165,895. But in these devices the disposable bag only covers a receptacle frame. The associated scraper or pusher tool is not protected and comes in contact with the waste material.